Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On

Began the morning with breakfast and Charlie and Lola. "It's Raining, It's Boring" Lola moans when it pours too hard to take Marv's dog Sizzles to the park. All the games Charlie and Marv come up with are for two, until they find a way to amuse Lola and them too.

Headed off to work after the cartoon ended; made it there just in time. Though we were once again busy during most of the day, it generally went a lot better than Wednesday. The weather was better, for once thing. Yes, it was gale-force windy and chilly, but it was also mostly sunny without the tiniest bit of precipitation. Clouds were in and out for a lot of the day, but they'd finally vanished by the time I went home. 

I was surprised when I went on my break and checked my phone to find that a friend from the YouTube Match Game chats had messaged me, asking me if I was ok. Apparently, there was an earthquake that centered in North Jersey. It wasn't a huge one, but it was enough that the tremors were felt from Washington DC to Massachusetts. Lauren texted me just minutes later and said someone mentioned feeling it in her area, though she never did. I didn't, either. I had no idea there was an earthquake until they told me. I was pushing carts at the time the earthquake happened and focusing entirely on that.

My schedule's an improvement, too. While I only work two early days next week, I also put in for two vacation days. Tuesday was just a random day off I took to use up the time, but Saturday will kick off my birthday weekend. It means I'll still be getting a decent paycheck despite the lack of hours. 

Once I got home, I changed and relaxed my sore legs while watching Match Game '77. Roz Kelly from Happy Days did her second and last week on the show, joined by Craig Morris from Vega$ and Joyce Bulifant. At one point near the end, a guy in the audience was brought onstage to give Roz a kiss. She said he was even better than Henry Winkler, leading Gene to call him "the new Fonz." Gene later comments on a contestant's flower-painted toenails, prompting Charles to come out with his own colored nails.

Had dinner while watching Match Game '91. We met a sweet young man from Arkansas here, leading to many southern jokes from the panel. Sally Struthers discusses the new show she was doing a voice for, Dinosaurs, while Jimmie Walker yells at the audience when they don't get his goofy answers.

Finished the night after a shower at Amazon Prime with The Secret of NIMH. Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman) needs to move from her cinder block home and away from the farmer's plow, but her son Timothy (Ian Fried)  has pneumonia and can't leave his bed. On advice from family friend Auntie Shrew (Hermione Badderly), she goes to see The Great Owl (John Carradine). He suggests she seek the aid of the rats who live in the rose bush. They're former lab rats who have developed a whole society in the bush, but must steal electricity and other items from the farmer to keep their civilization alive. 

Elderly head rat Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi) gives her an amulet and tells about how her husband Johnathan once helped the rats out of a jam. He wants to move the rats to a sheltered valley where they can live without stealing, but there's a splinter faction lead by treacherous Jenner (Paul Shenar) who thinks things are fine the way they are. Mrs. Brisby gets caught in the crossfire when she agrees to drug Dragon, and later when matters come to a head when they're moving the house. It's Mrs. Brisby herself who ultimately saves her home and her children, proving that the real magic comes from a loving and courageous heart.

This has been one of my favorite animated movies since it first turned up on cable around 1983. I also consider it to be by far Don Bluth's best work. Even Anastasia and the original Land Before Time can't compare to the imagination and maturity of this film. The soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith is one of the best ever written for an animated film, and Paul Williams' song "Flying Dreams" is gorgeous. Three gristly on-screen deaths, violence, the scary sequences with Dragon and The Great Owl, and frank discussions of death, illness, grief, and animal testing makes this for older elementary school animal lovers on up and their parents. 

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Started another gorgeous morning with a ride to the Haddon Township Library. It was a lovely day for a bike ride. Newton River Park was so busy, I rode on the street part of the way in order to avoid joggers, parents with strollers, couples walking together, and flocks of Canadian geese. It's so pretty out now, no wonder everyone's out and about. The grass is thick. The trees are much perkier than they were just a month ago. The wildflowers stand tall and brilliant. I'm so glad we've had this rain. It's been such a help, and we so needed it.

The Library was busy when I came in, too. The DVD cart and children's books carts were both loaded. I had plenty to do. Didn't see any DVDs I liked today, but I did take out two books on writing and one with small business ideas, along with a Calvin and Hobbes comic book.

Went straight home this time. I wanted to get to the Cherry Hill Mall and hit the end-of-the-summer-season sales. I had a really quick lunch of Peanut Butter and Peach Butter on a home-made English muffin and a peach, then hurried out the door to catch the 1:47 to Cherry Hill.

I just barely made it. Good thing it was a few minutes late! I hurried as fast as I could to the bus stop a block down from the entrance to the Wal-Mart section of the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. My heart was thumping when I finally made it to the bus stop sign.

Not long after I got on the bus, I heard someone mention to the driver that there had been an earthquake. I had no idea. I hadn't felt anything rushing to the bus stop but my feet and my pulsing heart. Nothing seemed any different...except for the people standing on the sidewalks in Westmont, looking a little dazed. Another man mentioned it when the bus stopped at the Cherry Hill Train Station behind the Shop Rite.

The Cherry Hill Mall looked just fine when the bus finally arrived. I didn't do quite as well as I did on my last mall trip, but I did find some things I needed. I picked up a pair of khaki capris for work, a bright gold Henley shirt, and a light green nightshirt with a book print that says "Never judge a book by its movie" at JCPenney. Bought Dick Tracy, The Last Starfighter, and The Shadow new on sale from FYE. Got a pair of cheap sneakers to run errands in at Payless Shoes.

My best find was a last-minute discovery at Lane Bryant. I've been looking for a nice, simple, inexpensive sundress to replace the red and blue dotted print that didn't fit for over a year now. Everything I've seen has either been too fancy, too expensive, or both. I found a sleeveless teal dress with three sweet ruffles on the hem of the skirt on a major clearance. Originally marked at 55 dollars, it rang up 18. Score! It's so sweet and lovely.

I also noticed that the 450 bus to the Cherry Hill Mall will let you off at the corner of Cuthbert Road and the White Horse Pike if requested. Good. That's a shorter trip than the hike to Audubon. It'll make things a lot easier on me when I want to go to Cherry Hill.

When I finally got home, I made pasta and chicken meatballs for dinner and continued my video to DVD dubbing. I'm working my way through my operettas that aren't on DVD now. Did the Arabian adventure The Desert Song during dinner and the MacDonald/Eddy Canadian romance Rose Marie after a much-needed shower.

Incidentally, the only damage that earthquake did here was knocking the Walt Disney Treasures DVD sets off the shelf. I've been meaning to move them, anyway. They're really too heavy for the flimsy Wal-Mart DVD rack I had them on. I swapped them and the animated movie DVDs to the heavier ash-colored DVD rack and moved the dramas and comedies to the Wal-Mart one.